


mutually exclusive

by crytalstellar



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Ambigious Warrior of Light, F/M, Ficlet, Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Fluff, Gender Neutral Warrior of Light, M/M, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-10-04 09:10:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20468576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crytalstellar/pseuds/crytalstellar
Summary: the crystal exarch cannot help but worry about an uncertain future.





	mutually exclusive

**Author's Note:**

> a friend and writer i look up to once said something like if you want to make yourself suffer, write a time travel fic. there isn't any actual time travel in this, i only have one brain cell and trying to wrap my head around what i wanted get across was too hard. thanks goes to my friend kelsey for talking time travel to me. i've had this scene (kinda) in my head for a while so i'm glad to have gotten it out. please enjoy!

When silence is all that greets you when you enter the Ocular via the portal from the Source you cannot help but feel somewhat strange. Every time that you’ve returned to the First prior to this, the Crystal Exarch has been there to welcome you back, ever eager to know of your latest adventures back home. You know full well that he can’t possibly be in the Ocular _ every _ time you come back as he must be a busy man, and yet you can’t deny the disappointment you feel in his absence.

You tell yourself that you’ll see him soon enough, and that notion comforts you some small bit. There is little doubt that once he hears of your return that he’ll be knocking on the door of your suite in the Pendants. If that’s the case, mayhaps you should prepare a snack of some sort for his eventual arrival. You begin to leave the Ocular, thoughts drifting to what kind of treats you should make for him, when an open door catches your eye.

Hesitantly, you peek into the Umbilicus and find the Exarch sitting in a chair amongst the piles of tomes. He's clearly deep in thought, his body bent forward with his chin resting on tented hands. You lean against the door frame, watching and waiting to see if he'll notice you. His brows are so tightly knitted together that you fear his face may permanently set in that way. Hoping to relieve him of such a fate you decide to call out to him. "Exarch?"

No response.

You try once more, using his name this time. "G'raha?"

He blinks, ears twitching as he finally lifts his head to meet your gaze. His expression immediately shifts to one of slight embarrassment. "Forgive me, I didn't notice you there…"

"It's fine," you respond, striding over to his chair. "Though, might I ask what you were thinking so intently about?" 

G'raha stares up at you, contemplating before he looks away. Briefly, you wonder if that means he won't elaborate, but after a moment he speaks, albeit with some manner of difficulty. "I… I was wondering… if, despite restoring Darkness to the First, we have yet to truly prevent the coming of the eighth Umbral Calamity."

You frown. As far as you know restoring Darkness to the land prevented the shard from rejoining with the Source, hence forestalling the Calamity. "What makes you say that?"

His brows furrow once more as he answers, "The fact that I am still here. It only makes sense that by undoing the Calamity that ultimately brought me here would cause my existence to cease."

"And so, you're saying that _ because _ you're still here that the eighth Umbral Calamity will still come to pass…?"

"That is correct." 

Your frown deepens and you try to think back to the very, very few times you've dealt with time magic. And try as you might you can't seem to make too much sense of it, but still G'raha's disposition on the matter doesn't sit well with you. "I can't exactly call myself an expert on the matter, but is that truly the way it works?"

"Well, ah… I would assume so," G'raha says thoughtfully. "There were many theories concerning the effects of time travel, but the few existing examples were of stable time loops. A situation such as this is rather unprecedented, so I cannot help but worry…"

What he's saying makes sense and as much as his concern is warranted it still bothers you. Frustrated, you sigh and reach out to poke the Exarch between his eyebrows. "If there is no way to know for certain, then why worry?" 

His eyes widen and for a brief moment you think back to when he was younger. Perhaps then he would have agreed on your stance, but now he is older, wiser and far more careful. And so, you can tell he's trying to think of a way to counter you, but you speak before he can.

"If I were to choose between an uncertain future with you and a certain future without, I would, without a doubt, choose the former."

G'raha gapes wordlessly at you as you offer him a somber smile before looking down at your hands.

“I… have lost enough,” you whisper, hands balling into fists. “So, I’ll take back whatever I am able. I can be allowed that much selfishness, don’t you think? Besides, I rather _ like _ having you around. 

"So," you continue confidently, "if the eighth Umbral Calamity is still to pass, then we shall face it _ together._"

You lift your gaze to meet G’raha’s, hoping that your little declaration has quelled his worries, even just a little bit. He merely continues to gawk at you with wide eyes. Just as you’re about to ask what he thinks he suddenly leans forward, pressing his lips to yours. 

The kiss lasts for barely a second before G’raha reels backwards, his face bright red and his ears flat as they can be.

“I-I…” he stutters, raising a hand up to attempt to cover his face. “Pray forgive me, I-I don’t know what ca-”

You reach out and pull his hand away from his face. He opens his mouth, likely to protest, but you silence him with a kiss of your own. After a few seconds, you pull away and G’raha is no less flustered than he was before. 

Smiling, you press your forehead to his, breaths mingling as your mouth hovers over his. “So, tell me, _ G’raha Tia _, will you allow my selfishness?”

He contemplates before answering in a measured tone, “...if I say yes, what will you do?”

You chuckle softly and press your lips to his once more.

  



End file.
